Chapter 12: Extortion (Soliciting Recommendation Votes)

  Lü Buwei, from Puyang, State of Wei.

  His father, Lü Gong, was just a small merchant in the countryside. In modern terms, he was a local tyrant who opened several textile workshops and made some money, so his family had no worries about food and clothing.

  Lü Buwei was a business genius, his commercial talent is rarely seen in history. He showed extraordinary business talent at a young age, and his father Lü Gong was very impressed with him, so he handed over the workshop to him to manage. He was not satisfied with being mediocre, determined to make Lü's business one of the best in the world.

  In fact, he did. In more than 20 years, the Lv's Chamber of Commerce became one of the top merchants in the world at that time, second only to the five major merchants who were famous all over the world at that time: Chuyuan Shi of Chu State, Bai Shi of Wei State, Tian Shi of Qi State, Zhuo Shi of Zhao State and Qing Furen of Qin State. These five major merchants had a history of at least one hundred years or even several hundred years to accumulate such wealth.

  The Lv's merchant house rose to become the second largest merchant house in just over twenty years, its rise was as fast as a rocket, it was a miracle.

  Lü Buwei's success lies in adhering to the four characters "strange goods can be valuable". Every time he discovers something good, he uses strange goods to store it and then sells it at a high price, often making huge profits.

  This time what was done in buying out the country is also included here.

  He met Qin Yiren at the Pingyuan Junfu, where Qin Yiren was still in his previous position and being used as a punching bag by Pingyuan Jun to vent his anger. Lü Buwei immediately determined that Qin Yiren was the rare treasure he had been searching for, one that might not be encountered even once in a lifetime, and if utilized properly, the gains would be immeasurable.

  After sending someone to investigate clearly, he became even more confident, thinking that he must be able to make Qin Yiren surrender and listen to his arrangements, becoming a puppet in his hands, at his disposal. Once the country is bought successfully, the Lv's Chamber of Commerce will become the largest merchant in the world.

  What made him extremely depressed was that the development of things far exceeded his expectations, and Qin Yiren actually took him as a rare commodity, intending to get enough benefits from this rare commodity.

  This kind of thing, Lü Buwei absolutely cannot accept, decided to think of another way, if Qin Yiren does not bow his head to him, does not become the puppet in his hands, he absolutely cannot carry out the affair of buying a country.

  Lu Buwei took out ten taels of gold and placed them on a small table, saying: "Please accept this gift, young master!"

  Ten gold, for ordinary people, that is a astronomical figure of wealth, can only be looked at but not reached. However, for Qin Yiren, this prince, it was an insult. Qin Yiren's eyes rolled over, and before he could react, Meng Zhao, Ma Gai, Fan Tong, and Hei Bo burst out in anger: "Lü Buwei, you have a big nerve, daring to insult the young master!"

  A majestic prince, if he were to accept ten pieces of gold from someone else, would be an utterly shameful thing, who could bear it?

  Even Miao Er's face was filled with anger.

  "Since that's the case, Lü Buwei took his leave." Lü Buwei retrieved the ten pieces of gold and gave a fist bump to the Qin stranger before turning around and leaving.

  Looking at Lü Buwei's back, Qin Yiren's eyes burst with sharp light: "What a treacherous merchant, so cunning."

  Qin Yi understood the intention of Lü Buwei very clearly, and this was a case of retreating in order to advance.

  "I'd like to lend a hand to help you, just as you need it. This move of mine is a retreat in order to advance, and I don't believe you won't come out chasing." Lü Buwei thought to himself as he walked away. If Qin Yiren were to chase after him, then the initiative would fall into Lü Buwei's hands, and he would be the one calling the shots.

  He played a good abacus, but he miscalculated and didn't see anyone chasing out.

  "Could I have miscalculated?" Lü Buwei was somewhat surprised, but after a moment's thought, he said: "I, Lü Buwei, have never had any dealings that didn't turn out as planned. I don't believe you won't come chasing after me." He deliberately slowed his pace, waiting for Qin Yiren to catch up.

  However, until he walked to the gate of the small courtyard, he did not see Qin Yiren's shadow. Lv Buwei was amazed for a while: "This Qin Yiren is not simple, and has such determination. The affairs of the state are already difficult, and Qin Yiren is so clever, making it even more difficult."

  Upon reconsideration, another wave of delight: "The more cunning Qin Yiren is, the better it is for me, as it will save me a lot of trouble. Moreover, once the plan to usurp the throne succeeds, my gains will be even greater, and I may even have a chance at becoming a king or a high-ranking official."

  Lü Buwei understood a truth: the more cunning a person is, the greater the benefits they will gain after success. If Qin Yiren returns to Qin and becomes the King of Qin, Lü Buwei will have many benefits. If Qin Yiren goes further, wages war against the six states in eastern China, expands his territory through conquest, then Lü Buwei's benefits will be even greater.

  "This thing must go on!" Lü Buwei's determination became even more resolute.

  "But first, I must make Qin Yiren submit and listen to me. How can this be done?" Lü Buwei began to ponder, wanting to scheme against Qin Yiren.

  Just then, Zhao Ping came up with a smile and asked, "Sir, how's your harvest?"

  "Got it!" Lü Buwei's eyebrows rose, and he immediately had an idea. He shook his head repeatedly and sighed, saying: "Alas, let's not mention it, let's not mention it."

  This remark piqued Zhao Ping's curiosity, and he hastily asked: "Sir, what do you mean by this?"

  "Not only did he not collect the old debt, but also lent out a thousand taels of gold. A thousand taels of gold, when can it be collected?" Lü Buwei stepped out of the courtyard gate, a hint of a smile floating at the corner of his mouth, and with the support of Old Master Xi, got into the carriage.

  Ximen Lao jumped onto the carriage shaft and drove off in his cart.

  "A thousand gold?" Zhao Ping's eyes were filled with greed, and he muttered to himself, "If I could get my hands on this thousand gold, that would be great! I'll have everything I want!"

  Ten thousand yuan is not a small amount of money, Zhao Ping never thought about it in his life.

  The problem is that Meng Zhao, Ma Gai and Fan Tong are capable of fighting, but Qin Yiren is as cunning and clever as a fox, so with this number of people, they are not his match. Knowing there's a lot of money to be made, but can't get their hands on it, Zhao Ping feels like scratching like a cat.

  "It's not difficult to handle this matter, sir." The five red-clad attendants all had greedy looks on their faces. If they could get their hands on the thousand taels of gold, they would be able to turn a tidy profit and give Zhao Ping a good share as well. One of the attendants thought quickly and came up with an idea.

  "Speak quickly." Zhao Ping's spirit lifted.

  The man in red whispered to Zhao Ping, "Sir, our manpower is limited and we can't control Qin Yiren. But we can find someone else, can't we just find some street rascals?"

  "A brilliant plan! Go and gather people quickly!" Zhao Ping was overjoyed and gave the order with a wave of his hand.

  The little official in red hurried off with a single response.

  Before long, the red-clad official brought over ten ruffians from the streets, each with a face full of villainy, and at a glance you could tell they were not good people.

  "I've called you all here today because I have a task for you to complete." Zhao Ping, with his sword at his side and a gloomy expression on his face, said: "If the task is successful, each of you will be rewarded with one gold coin."

  "A tael of gold?" For a street urchin, even one tael is a small fortune, and he couldn't help but be delighted.

  "But remember, if anyone doesn't put in their best effort, don't blame me for being ruthless." Zhao Ping shouted loudly, his voice as loud as thunder.

  "We are at your command, sir!" Since ancient times, ordinary people do not fight with officials. The riffraff in the market are also ordinary people, and although Zhao Ping is a minor official, he is still an official. Ten riffraff in the market shouted in unison.

  "Bring the guys along and follow me!" Zhao Ping waved his hand, leading several of his men and ten street rascals, rushing into the small courtyard with a loud whoosh.

  "Qin Yiren, let's settle old and new scores at once!" Zhao Ping's face was flushed with red light, his eyes gleaming with ferocity, his face twisted in a fierce scowl.